EU to introduce plastic waste tax
The European Union is introducing a tax on non-recycled plastic packaging from 1 January 2021. The tax will be paid by member states into the EU’s general budget. The levy is one of the measures to finance the COVID-19 recovery package of EUR 750 billion. “As a first step, a new own resource will be […]
GIZ ORF-EE working together with associations of municipalities towards sustainable urban mobility
Through cooperation with associations of municipalities and cities, numerous local authorities from the Western Balkans laid out their sustainable urban mobility strategy and made first steps toward a people-centered urban mobility system. The endeavour was facilitated by the Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Energy Efficiency (ORF-EE), a regional project implemented by the Deutsche […]
Most read in July: Energy democracy coming to Southeastern Europe
The wave of energy democracy in the region is slowly strengthening. The story on citizens in Greece joining hands to speed up energy transition was the most read article in July on the English language version of Balkan Green Energy News. The list is also available for the Serbian language version of the website (Najčitanije […]
Southeast Electricity Network Coordination Center opens in Thessaloniki
Four transmission system operators founded a regional security coordinator for security analysis in operational planning, for adequacy forecasts, grid modeling and outage planning. The Southeast Electricity Network Coordination Center is based in Thessaloniki in Greece. Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or Admie), Italy’s Terna, Romania’s Transelectrica and Bulgaria’s ESO-EAD announced they established the Southeast Electricity […]
EU preparing CO2 tax for products from other countries
The European Commission launched public consultations on taxation rules that would help its climate agenda. It expressed the intention to revise the internal Energy Tax Directive and to introduce a carbon border adjustment mechanism in line with the European Green Deal. The latter, effectively a CO2 tax, could be applied for imported and domestic goods […]
Energy Community, EBRD publish policy guidelines on financing mechanisms for energy efficiency
The Energy Community Secretariat and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have prepared policy guidelines to help contracting parties to design and establish effective centralized financing mechanisms to boost energy efficiency investments. According to the recently published Energy Transition Tracker, the energy-saving measures could lead to additional investments worth EUR 2.5 billion in […]
TENDERING: Energy Community preparing study on hydrogen potential
The Energy Community Secretariat is seeking consultants to conduct a study on the potential of hydrogen technologies and their utilization. The document should provide the state of play of hydrogen technologies, the announcement adds. The study should identify the potential for hydrogen utilization in the contracting parties and provide recommendations on how it could be […]
Western Balkans could attract EUR 2.5 billion in investments to boost energy efficiency
The Western Balkan countries are slow in using their potential in energy efficiency improvement, despite the fact that energy-saving measures could lead to additional investments worth EUR 2.5 billion and lower energy consumption in buildings by 40%, according to the Energy Transition Tracker. The slow pace translates to energy productivity in the range of 20% […]